Jairo Diaz: At 6-feet, 248 pounds, he looks more like Broncos linebacker Von Miller than a relief pitcher from Venezuela. Diaz looks imposing and his sizzling 95-97 mph fastball adds to presence.

The 23-year-old was acquired from the Angels in an off-season trade for infielder Josh Rutledge. Diaz — who converted from catcher because he couldn’t hit — made just five big-league appearances in 2014, but struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out more than 13 batters per nine innings with a 2.20 ERA at Double-A Arkansas in 2014.

When Diaz got the unexpected call-up from the Angels late last summer, Diaz cried.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

He fits the power profile that GM Jeff Bridich and manager Walt Weiss want in their bullpen.

Colorado Rockies pitcher Yohan Flande throws in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals June 25, 2014 at Coors Field. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

The Rockies invited 24 players not already on their roster to spring training camp starting next week. They include some big questions about the makeup of the pitching staff to start the 2015 season.

Jon Gray, who pitched exclusively for Double-A Tulsa last season, will compete for a roster spot alongside Eddie Butler, his Drillers teammate last season. Butler made the jump to the big leagues for three games. To start spring, though, both are on the outside looking in at a Rockies rotation that currently pencils in as Jorge De La Rosa, Jhoulys Chacin, Tyler Matzek, Jordan Lyles and Kyle Kendrick.

But will the young pitchers show well enough to crack the Rockies’ roster out of spring? Can newly-acquired David Hale make a move to a starting spot? Did a spot starter last season carve out a spot for himself?

Woody Paige, who has a Baseball Hall of Fame vote, talked about the new inductees and who he still wants voted in the Hall. Paige voted for the four guys who got in — Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio — but admitted there were “four or five other guys” he voted for, including Larry Walker, a “homer vote,” Paige said.

Paige and The Sports Show co-host Les Shapiro also debated if steroids-tainted players belonged in the Hall during Tuesday’s show.

However, there is no confirmation that the Rockies would be willing to trade Brothers, who was sensational in 2013 but slumped badly in 2014, posting a 5.59 ERA in 74 appearances.

Gee, 28, went 7-8 with a 4.00 ERA in 22 starts for New York. Gee struck out 94 and walked 43. He is under team control for two more seasons and projected to earn around $5 million for 2015 via arbitration.

New Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich has repeatedly said that his No. 1 priority during the offseason was to improve the starting rotation.

It will take a very good deal for the Rockies to part with first baseman Justin Morneau.(Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

SAN DIEGO — It’s Wednesday, the final full day of baseball’s winter meetings, and thus far, the Rockies have talked and listened but taken no action.

Rumors are swirling, as they always are at the winter meetings. As Jenny Cavnar from Root Sports said to me: “It’s like a giant fantasy baseball convention.”

That said, I still believe the Rockies will make a move — or at least construct the groundwork for a deal.

Here is the latest on potential Rockies trades:

* Catcher Wilin Rosario: A number to teams have inquired about “The Bull,” most of them from the American League, where Rosario could be used as a designated hitter and a catcher. The front-runner appears to be the Rangers, who need a right-handed power bat. They have relievers that interest the Rockies, including right-handers Roman Mendez, Jon Edwards, Shawn Tolleson, Phil Kleinand Spencer Patton, as well as lefty Robbie Ross Jr.

The Rockies are hopeful that right-hander Jhoulys Chacin can recover from the shoulder woes that wrecked his 2014 season.(John Leyba, The Denver Post)

“He have had good reports on Jhoulys,” manager Walt Weiss said Tuesday at the winter meetings. “It was obviously a big concern for us going into the off‑season, and (we) felt like he had a long way to go.

“When we were in September, we felt like he had a really long way to go. He’s come a long way in a few months. We feel like he’s going to be a big part of our club moving forward. We need him to be.”

Matt Kemp argues with home plate umpire Dale Scott during Game 3 of the NLDS in October. (Michael Thomas, Getty Images)

Longtime Major League Baseball umpire Dale Scott came out two months ago when he was profiled in the October issue of Referee magazine, a small, subscription-only publication. He submitted some photos of him away from the diamond, some of which were of him and his husband, Michael Rausch.

Scott, 55, recently spoke with Outsports about his decision to release the photos and, ultimately, become the only active official in the four major American pro sports to come out as gay.

Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort walks off the field before a game against the San Diego Padres on July 8, 2014, at Coors Field. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

The Rockies opened up to their fans during a live chat on Twitter Friday afternoon.

The participants — owner Dick Monfort, new general manager Jeff Bridich, manager Walt Weiss and new pitching coach Steve Foster — played it fairly close to the vest. The Q&A that appeared on Twitter was pretty thematic, but there were other, more specific questions about possible trades, free-agent acquisitions, etc. that were handled off the Twitter screen.

The Rockies PR department is working on releasing the entire chat, so there is more to come.

A few of my observations based on what I was able to view via Twitter:

It’s evident that a contingent of fans are angry about the Rockies’ consistent losing. To his credit, Monfort answered some of those critics by promising more victories. Of course, words ring hollow if there are no results to back up the words.

Bridich, like most general managers, is not going to give up specific information very often.

Weiss said the “Darkness on the Edge of Town” is his favorite Bruce Springsteen song. I choose to disagree. Thunder Road is the best … not that you care.

Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort talks about the state of the club during a one-on-one interview with The Denver Post before the Colorado Rockies play the San Diego Padres on July 8, 2014 at Coors Field. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Need your baseball fix as the days grow colder, shorter and darker? If so, you’re in luck.

The Rockies are providing fans with an opportunity to engage with new general manager Jeff Bridich and owner Dick Monfort at 1 p.m. Friday in a “Rockies Tweet 20 Chat.” Questions also will be answered through email and Facebook.

Troy Tulowitzki’s best moment of the 2014 season was a walk. Against Philadelphia’s Jonathan Pettibone at Coors Field on April 18, Tulowitzki pushed his first-inning at-bat to 14 pitches.

It was a career-high plate pitch count for the Rockies shortstop. He fouled off nine pitches — eight after the count went full. Then he walked. It set up the whole game. He learned all of Pettibone’s pitches. And Tulowitzki went on to go 3-for-3 with a home run, double and 5 RBIs and the Rockies won 12-1.

Tulowitzki was locked in. He was the second-best player in baseball in the early months. And he was on the National League MVP shortlist into July. It was shaping up to be his best career season. Then hip surgery sidelined him after 91 games.

He’s played 264 games the past three seasons. That averages to 88 games per season.

So when Tulo trade talk percolated last week at baseball’s general manager meetings in Phoenix — among fans and media, if not among actual GMs — the arguments never found a settled-on middle. If the Rockies trade Tulo, are they trading 91-game Tulo? Or 30 home runs, 100 RBIs Tulo?

Franklin Morales peaked with the Rockies before he even started. He was a key piece in their Rocktober run to the World Series in 2007. And he wasn’t even yet a rookie. Going into 2008, Baseball America even ranked him the 8th-best prospect, one spot behind Clayton Kershaw and ahead of David Price, Andrew McCutchen and Johnny Cueto.

Morales ended up with a World Series ring. He had it delivered to the Rockies clubhouse last season. He won it with the Red Sox in 2013, as a reliever.

But he never reached those heights again. And Morales is now a free agent, again, heading to his ninth big-league season. Whether the Rockies want him back, remains to be seen. But we did learn one thing about Morales in 2014: Going forward, he’s not likely to be a starter.

LaTroy Hawkins seemed really offended when I asked him the question. After he pitched a hitless ninth inning to earn a win in the Rockies’ comeback 7-6 victory over Arizona at Coors Field on Sept. 18, Hawkins made his 996th career appearance.

The Rockies, at that point, had nine games remaining. He needed four appearances to reach a major milestone. That’s an appearance every other day down the stretch, basically. In a lost season, when the games stopped mattering much, that’s a lot of action to demand of a 41-year-old arm.

So I asked: “Do you think you’ll even have the opportunity to reach 1,000 games? Will Weiss call on you enough?”

So what can the Rockies buy in free agency with that $12 million they’re saving on Anderson when they try to replace him in their rotation?

On the surface, Colorado’s options are plenty. But there are plenty of restrictions. You can scratch Max Scherzer and Jon Lester and their ilk off the Rockies’ wish list. That’s too much wishing for the price.

Brett Anderson. (Justin K. Aller, Getty Images)

The Rockies also have to face perception. It’s more difficult for them to get many free-agent pitches to even consider pitching in Colorado.

That’s why Anderson’s real value with the Rockies wasn’t necessarily his ability — although he certainly has the potential to be a top-rotation pitcher (he could have been their ace next season). The best perk the Rockies had with Anderson was that he was under contract. And he actually seemed like he liked pitching in Denver.

It may have been wiser for the Rockies to pick up Anderson’s option, then try to trade him before spring training. If they struck out in trades, the Rox would at least still have a solid starter on the rolls.

But that’s in the past. And the Rockies now need a new starting-quality pitcher for their rotation. Otherwise, we’ll see the phrase “LHP starting pitcher Yohan Flande…” real soon.

So what are the Rockies’ options for free-agent pitchers? Remember: They will pay Jorge De La Rosa, their current ace, $12.5 million per year for the next two. Use that as a guide post.

Here’s a list with some guesses, loosely ranked and categorized by the likelihood they’ll wear purple next season (estimates are guesses based on similar pitcher’s past deals):

Do they pay the $12 million option to keep him? See if he can help boost them back to respectability? Perhaps reap the benefits by trading him next summer?

Or do they cut Anderson loose, pay the $1.5 million buyout, and go searching for another veteran starter?

It will be one of the first big decisions facing new general manager Jeff Bridich. He told me on Wednesday that he expects to make the contract option decision regarding Anderson (as well as reliever LaTroy Hawkins) as soon as this weekend.

Major League Baseball announced the umpire crew for this season’s Fall Classic between the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals.

Veteran umpire Jeff Kellogg was named the crew chief and is working his fifth World Series. He will be joined by four World Series first-timers — Hunter Wendelstedt, Jerry Meals, Jim Reynolds and Eric Cooper — as well as Ted Barrett and Jeff Nelson.

Wendelstedt is following in his father’s footsteps. He also wears number 21 to honor his father Harry who called five World Series.

MLB almost always tries to have one new umpire call the Series every season. This year, four guys got the call.

Meals will work home plate for Game 1 and then monitor all replays for the rest of the series. Nelson will man replays for Game 1 and then go to field. Brian O’Nora will also serve as a replay assistant this series, the first in which where expanded video replay is being used in the World Series.

“We are very fortunate to have an extremely bright, energetic and talented group of individuals currently within our own organization that are ready and eager to utilize their skills and experience,” owner Dick Monfort said in a statement. “I know Jeff is anxious to begin working on the goal of putting a championship team on the field that the Rockies staff, our fans and our region deserve.”

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.